Chad Layton doesn’t worry about appear­ances. He loves to race and isn’t one of those guys who can sit on the sidelines.

Not when he can prove a point.

On a regular Friday night at Williams Grove Speed­way, the pit area is loaded with elaborate enclosed trail­ers that house high-priced sprint cars. Then there is Layton, towing in with his car riding out in the open on a small flatbed.

In recent weeks, he’s had three different friends use pickups to tow the trailer,meager by today’s standards.

There are a couple of tires, some tools and a cooler. It’s a throwback to the 1980s.

Very old school.

"The car I bring has the stuff I need for heat and fea­ture race adjustments," Lay­ton said, "whatever is a dire necessity.

"If we have an accident, we are done. We are loading it up on the truck."

Layton was put in this po­sition when Dave Middle­swarth — the owner of Lay­ton’s normal ride — decided he was only going to run time trial shows at the Grove and Saturday nights at Port Royal Speedway.

But instead of taking Fri­day vacation days, Layton and his father, Jim, decided to dust off the house car and try their hand against some of the best in the business.

Layton’s making it work. Despite being surrounded by the likes of Fred Rahmer, Greg Hodnett, Daryn Pit­tman and Brian Montieth, the Harrisburg driver has three sixth-place finishes in the last four races in his own car and is sixth in the point stand­ings.

"Hanging in with the guys at Williams Grove is tough," Layton, 36, said. "This is the baddest group in the country, and I’m proud of our accomplishments there and that we are able to keep doing it.

"We are doing it to win, but it’s fun. Running in the top 10 with what we have, I hope people notice. It sends the message that you don’t have to have an enclosed trailer to run. I’m not knock­ing that; we would do it if we could afford it, but it’s not a necessity."

This isn’t just about a trail­er. Layton has one motor. If he blows it, that’s it. He may be out for a week or two.

There are no parts to spare. He has a wing and a front axle, but he doesn’t bring it to the track because of the lack of available space.

Yet, Layton doesn’t fear wrecking. He may take fewer chances, but overall, he is the same driver as he is in some­one else’s equipment.

"I don’t think I race differ­ent," Layton said. "It’s like I told the guys, if someone wants to wreck me or race me dirty, I’m going to wait until the next corner to make a move.

"I run it as hard as if I was in [the Middleswarth car]. But if it’s a questionable situ­ation, I worry about it then."

Layton’s throwback proj­ect is also making him a bet­ter driver. He sets up his own car, which brings him up to speed with what needs to be done to a racecar.

We will see if that knowledge pays off when he re­turns to the Middleswarth ride this Friday for the twin 20s and Aug. 31 for the triple 20s at the Grove.

In between, Layton will be on his shoestring budget. And he will continue to show that he is a worthy competi­tor no matter what car he drives.

"A trailer doesn’t win a race," Layton said. "You have to be prepared. What makes a champion is when you blow an engine or rear end, you can replace it in a hurry. That is what professionals do.

"We may appear like we are amateurs, but we are pre­paring our car like a profes­sional and can compete at a high level. I’m confident we can win. Everything has to fall into place for that to hap­pen, like it does for any team."

NOTES

The World of Outlaws announced last Thursday that the group has signed a multiyear title sponsorship package with STP. De­tails of the agreement, which be­gins next season, were not re­leased.

Crew chief RobPeters has hooked up with DougEsh for the rest of the season. Peters parted company with NicoleBower’s team in late June. Esh’s former crew chief, DennisKohler, is em­ployed by AlanKrimes.

ShaneStewart competed in PaulSilva’s sprint car out of Sac­remento, Calif., at last week’s Knoxville Nationals. The car was sponsored by the Jeff Gordon Chil­dren’s Foundation. Stewart will run the car a couple more times this season, but there are no plans to compete full time on the World of Outlaws series next season.

DarrellLanigan is crushing the competition on the World of Out­laws late model tour. He has won six straight and 13 of 30 races on the circuit this season. Lanigan, who has 27 top 10 finishes, has earned $269,400. Second in earn­ings is TimMcCreadie with $110,320. The series visits Selins­grove Speedway Aug. 26. 

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